Your first assignment
Allow plenty of time for your first assignment and use all the support and resources available.
Library
Make sure you know how to use the Library to find resources. If you don't, attend a Library course.
Book a course on the Library website
Completing assignments
Make sure you feel confident about completing your assignment. Student Learning runs workshops on how to write assignments.
Visit the Student Learning website
Cheating
The University has very strict rules about cheating. You need to understand what the University means by cheating — and how to avoid it.
You must ensure that:
- You correctly identify your sources.
- You don't get too much help with your assignment.
- You don't give too much help to someone else.
Teachers need to be confident that it is your own work they are assessing. There are systems in place to monitor this, including an electronic system called Turnitin.
Find out more about academic honesty and plagiarism
Referencing
A key skill you need to learn for your assignments is referencing — an academically acceptable form of sourcing other peoples’ ideas.
- It takes a while to get used to referencing sources of information.
- Your teachers will help you, and you can develop these skills by using the Referen©ite website.
- Read through the website early, before you need it. You'll use it a lot when you're completing assignments.
Study groups
Form a study group for each course, so you can support each other with the assignments.
Your departmental and faculty handbooks will describe the types of assessment used in your course, and how much they contribute to your final grade. Your teachers will give you more information in class.
Types of assessment
- Essays
- Reports
- Problem-solving exercises
- Case studies
- Laboratory-based practical work
- Studio work
- Performance
- Oral presentations
- Aural tests
- Individual and group projects
- Fieldwork
- Computer-based tests and multiple choice questionnaires (MCQs)
- Written tests and examinations
At the end of each course, you will be awarded a grade.
Your grade will take into account your final examination results, or a combination of your final examination results and your coursework results. At higher levels of study, your grade might be based entirely on coursework.
Pass grades
There are nine pass grades:
- A+
- A
- A-
- B+
- B
- B-
- C+
- C
- C-
Each pass grade has a numerical equivalent. A+ is equivalent to 9, and C- is equivalent to 1. These numbers are used when calculating a Grade Point Average (GPA).
Fail grades
There are three fail grades:
- D+
- D
- D-
A few courses have an ungraded pass/fail result—mainly those which have a large practicum component.
Complete your course
- It is important that you complete your course and sit all examinations.
- If you remain enrolled in a course and do not complete it or do not sit the final examination, this may be regarded as equivalent to a fail.
- In some subjects you must pass both the practical and theory separately to pass the course.
Grades are important
Good grades will help you move through your degree quickly and give you access to the courses you want to take. They count if you decide to apply for a scholarship at any time, and employers will want to know how well you did in your study.
To keep studying at The University of Auckland, you need to maintain a certain level of academic performance.
From 2011, you need to have a GPA of 1.0 for satisfactory progress.
If you do not progress satisfactorily, the number of courses you may enrol in will be restricted. If you don't improve, you may be suspended from study.
